Kenya’s queens of the track, Faith Kipyegon and Beatrice Chebet have been awarded the prestigious Golden Plate by the Academy of Achievers of the United States of America.
The three-time Olympic champion received the award just three days before she competes in her final track race this season, at the Athlos meeting in New York, the same city she bagged the Golden Plate earlier today.
Kipyegon and Chebet have been awarded following their outstanding performances and consistency in recent track seasons.
The two Kenyan stars brought home gold medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics which ended on August 11, and with the prestigious Golden Plate, they are concluding the season with recognition of their stellar performances.
At the Paris Diamond League earlier in July, Faith Kipyegon shattered her 1500m World Record before going ahead to clinch her third Olympic title in the distance.
It has also been glory after glory for Chebet, who demolished the women’s 10000m record at the Eugene Diamond League in May this year.
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After the world record stun, Chebet proved that she was the long distance athlete to watch when bagged gold medals in 5000m and 100000m.
President William Ruto who was recognized by the same institution barely two weeks ago, and who was present at the dinner at Lincoln Centre, New York, where Kipyegon and Chebet were awarded, applauded the Kenyan duo, saying they had been awarded for their hard work.
“Congratulations Faith Kipyegon and Beatrice Chebet for being recognised and awarded by the Academy of Achievement.
The extraordinary honour is a solid tribute to your hard work, talent and dedication to athletics. No doubt, it will inspire upcoming athletes and help shape our country’s sports,” Ruto said.Kipyegon and Chebet join several sportsmen and women who have been awarded Golden Plates by the institution.
They include multiple Olympic champion, retired American sprinter Allyson Felix, celebrated artistic gymnast Simone Biles and the late British middle-distance runner Sir Roger Bannister among others.
The American Academy of Achievement was founded by Brian Blaine Reynolds, an acclaimed photographer best known for his contributions to Life magazine and Sports Illustrated.
Reynolds established the Academy of Achievement to bring aspiring young people together with real-life heroes — the kind of achievers he met every week on assignment.
He discovered that visionaries and pioneers, who often strike us as larger-than-life, are real people who endured setbacks and persevered through everyday challenges, like anyone else.
The difference is in how they kept their eyes open to new opportunities, and in how they went about achieving their dreams. The Academy’s first annual Banquet of the Golden Plate program was held at Monterey, California in September of 1961.